Month: December 2008

As an apparently Jihad friendly YouTube bows to the whims of those who support Rocket Attacks to Kill Jews the IDF’s Videos have gone elsewhere. Powerline decided to host the videos for a start even offering the code to embed them to others.

Talk about disproportionate response. Just an hour or so after Power Line posted a series of videos from the Israeli Defense Forces–videos that, as Scott discovered, YouTube had pulled–we experienced a Denial-of-Service attack from a cabal of a half-dozen servers in the U.S. The attack sought to make Power Line and the videos we are hosting inaccessible by overloading our server. Our data center promptly registered the attack, and then defeated it by placing Power Line behind an advanced computer called a Cisco Guard.

I think the fear here is not so much that the world will see the Hamas guys loading rockets or the precision of the attacks, I think the fear is that the Hamas guys will see how they can be targeted without being noticed.

Oddly another review I wrote many hours earlier today hasn’t been posted yet but this one went right up.

This will be the last 6th doctor adventure for several months at Big Finish as the 3 part Key to Time series featuring the 5th doctor and two other adventures featuring the 7th doctor are scheduled next.

This is also the last item in my subscription to the Big Finish audios as I’m not in a position to renew right now, so I guess its back to eBay for now.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades said that If Israeli soldiers enter Gaza, “your children will collect your soldiers’ corpses.”

“Hamas and Al-Qassam are in every house. They will attack you from under the debris. If you believe shelling homes will make us retreat, you will learn that your plans are wrong, and we will surprise you,” Hamas spokesperson Abu Ubayda said in a televised speech.

That sounds like hiding among civilians to me.

Under the rules of war a “protected building” such as a church or hospital loses its protected statue when you take fire from it. These guys care as much for their own people as the rest of the Arab world does.

via Israellycool which if you read this blog you should have already bookmarked by now.

Share this:

Like this:

Well with all of the activities going on via eBay I’ve been jumping around a bit. Looks like somebody noticed and decided to see if I was a sucker or not. The e-mail I received follows. I’ve re-directed the links to this blog.

To: “Peter Ingemi”

Content-Type: text/html; This is clue 1. Large companies almost never send plain text. That doesn’t mean that if it wasn’t plan text that it was real but it is a clue.

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account. They are always crying account issues. This is actually rather smart since they are sending it after some account activity.

We requested information from you for the following reason: They are playing the “request” card nice and sweet

A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional information from you in order to provide you with secure service. They always need “extra info”

Case ID Number: PP-332-990-588 Oh a case ID then it MUST be real. You’d be surprised how much that makes a difference to people.

This is a second reminder to log in to PayPalThis is the first phony link. as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access.

Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety. Once you log it they’ve got you!

In accordance with PayPal’s User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your PayPal account as soon as possible to help avoid this. This is really smart. Once they get in and change your password you will be locked out while they take every cent they can. This sentence gives you a plausible reason why your normal activities fail and how many people actually read those agreements?

To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal used to make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the Resolution Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you seek further clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPal by visiting the Help Center and clicking “Contact Us”. Another line to stall you.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience. And again you are doing this for your own good.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

PayPal Email ID PP638 The last official touch

If you look at the actual raw links you would see a long complicated link, that is another big clue.

The way to confirm that something like this is nonsense is easy.

Either put the raw address of the company (in this case www.paypal.com) into your browser and do a search of the base company (paypal) and follow that link. If there is something actually going on you will find it there. Don’t be the pfish who falls for the bait on the hook.

Share this:

Like this:

Well even though my attempts to get business via eBay has been less than successful to put it kindly I’ve decided to take the plunge and license LogMeIn for 18 months.

I’m going to keep my regular job hunt going on but I’m going to try the eBay stuff again. If I fail in my job hunt over the next 35 days I’ll put the majority of my resources to push the DaTechGuy brand to do it on my own.

January is going to be the key , the cleanup is pretty much done, the Christmas Season will have passed and schools and business will be back to normal speed. That is when I’ll see if I can generate interest in myself or no.

So it re-listing time on eBay again and trying to make a living on my own efforts. So if you need computer tech support, consider DaTechGuy and I’ll put my efforts behind your machine.

If your interested and even if you’re not I have 7 services that I’m offering:

Virus cleaning

Printer setup

System TuneUp

System Setup

Router/Wireless setup

Problem evalulation

Fix-it (catch on for everything not listed)

Well if you need me give me a shout.

Share this:

Like this:

The wife accidentally hit me about 3 hours ago waking me up. Unfortunately I stayed up, but that means Morning Joe and I got the chance to see the start of the show. Since I’m typing as they are speaking quotes may not be exact.

Chuck Todd is on and just pointed out that moderates and independents voted for Obama in droves even though the candidate was John McCain.

This is John McCain who is supposed to be Mr Moderate

Joe Scarborough gets it:

Republican Moderates usually do poorly Republican true believers tend to do well.

Pat questions Todd pointing out that when he selected Palin he was up for a while until the market crashed and killed him.

(all this sounds like Rush Limbaugh so far)

Todd however is blaming a bad Obama campaign rather than the Palin pick.

Here is the actual answer. Obama didn’t run a great campaign against McCain, the media ran a great campaign for Obama. Obama was and in my opinion is a rookie pitcher from a corrupt machine with a lot of questionable associations but the media decided he was the next JFK and the cure to all that was wrong with race in America. They didn’t want anything in the way of the history they were making.

As far as McCain goes rallied conservatives with Palin and could have won this campaign but his position on the bailout murdered him and kept conservatives home. The media did and still hates Palin for what she is, an actual living example of conservative values who doesn’t give a damn what they think. So they did their best to destroy her.

Limbaugh was absolutely right about this one but as always we got the government we deserve, and we have 4 years to see if it was the right move.

Update: Morning Joe would be so much better if Andrea Mitchell wasn’t on it. Unlike the others on the show she still pretends that she is a reporter and not an advocate but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Share this:

Like this:

Got an oil delivery from my local company Lorden Oil yesterday it was for $2.39 a gal.

Back in August when prices were sky high the offered their annual pre-pay. This year it was $4.64 with a .20 cent a gallon price protection option. I figured that rather than tying up so much money, I’d be better off taking my chances and paying as I go since the price was so high I figured how much higher could it go, plus if it dropped I’d be earning the interest instead of them.

First of all, viewers and readers should know that many customers chose to lock in when prices were higher.

They wanted to protect themselves against prices going up even more, and now they’re stuck with higher bills.

In many cases those customers must honor their contracts, even though it looks like a bad deal

However it is forgotten that your local oil company likely prepaid too:

Harry Hicks, the owner of HL Fuels, said that’s precisely what he did. He understands his customers are in a bind, but, he said, so is he. “For people who are paying $4.60, I already paid over $4 for that fuel when they prepaid,” he said.

In Boston its not just the individual customers that lot their bet this year:

The consortium in the western suburbs, which comprises Brookline, Cambridge, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Weston, and Winchester, has used the system for more than two decades and says it works: It has tied or beaten the market every year until now.

Last year, those communities locked in a rate less than $2, and watched gleefully as prices rose to more than $4 a gallon. But this year, the sharp decline in prices means a city like Newton, which estimated it would use 905,000 gallons of oil this heating season, may have to spend an extra $1.7 million, based on the current average price.

The real danger is if people decide to start running to the lawyers when nothing crooked is going on. Most years the pre-buy is a good deal, this is the first year I didn’t use it myself and the margins on this stuff isn’t a lot.

When you have the freedom to make choices, sometimes you will make the wrong one.

Share this:

Like this:

As the year ends power is finally restored in town but the December 11th storm but as our local paper reports there was one nasty surprise for everyone:

Tim Bean said he lost power for 11 days following the Dec. 11 ice storm, and received a Unitil bill this month that’s about $100 more than his regular charge.

“I had my electricity off for 11 days, I assumed it would be less than usual,” the Westminster Hill Road resident said Monday.

The problem is computer models:

Senior Vice President Unitil George Gantz said the company is using computerized estimates to determine a “couple thousand” customers’ utility bills this month because of power outages in the region. Gantz said the system makes an estimate based on the usage of the last year.

Some customers think turnabout is fair play:

Townsend resident Bruce Goyette said he got a bill for $463 this month, even though he only used $277 worth of power last month and $369 worth in December 2007. He lost power for three days this month.

“I think they could have sent a bill that was approximately what November’s bill was,” Goyette said.

In response, Goyette said he’s going to send Unitil an “estimated payment” of $300.

“A more-than-generous estimate,” he said.

We pay Unitil some of the highest electric rates in the country (I think we’re 3rd). This storm and its aftermath are not covering them with glory.

Share this:

Like this:

The Curt Jester reports that the Raving Atheist has changed the name of his blog to the Raving Theist and this post contains the following announcement:

Three years ago, I promoted and appeared in the atheist documentary “The God Who Wasn’t There,” dedicated to the proposition that Jesus never existed.

TODAY I DEDICATE THIS SITE AND MY LIFE TO THE WORSHIP AND SERVICE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

The rest of the post is the creed which suggests he has become a Catholic. Good for him! The comments however are full of rather abusive and insulting comments from other Athiests.

Presuming this isn’t a Christmas joke it will be very interesting to see if he explains the conversion in detail. The Jester has some experience in this matter so his blog will be a good thing to check out over the next few days as this goes on.

If you are a Christian in general or a Catholic in particular I suggest praying for him as there are some tough times ahead. If you are a disappointed atheist will I guess you just have to deal with it and hope for the best.

Amazon.com Inc. last week warned customers running Windows XP that a Samsung digital photo frame it sold through earlier this month might have come with malware on the driver installation CD.

An Amazon.com customer posted the warning a week ago to the online retailer’s user forum. It its note to customers, Amazon.com noted that a Samsung advisory had been issued for the SPF-85H, an 8-in. digital photo frame that Amazon sold for approximately $150 starting in October.

The Samsung SPF-85H is no longer available on Amazon.com.

Anything that can store data can store a virus, make sure that when you do a virus sweep you include ANY cards and or external locations that a virus might be hosted to. In fact if you are thinking of doing a major backup it would be a good idea to consider a virus scan first so you don’t back up an infection.

Via guess who. Seriously I’ve never seen a guy manage to get so many thing posted online while still having a life, which he does. How does Glenn Reynolds do it?

Share this:

Like this:

I completely agree with the protesters who say that the war crimes in Gaza should end.

So, what are those war crimes?

Let us count the charges, shall we?

* I agree that the deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians by Hamas is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of residential areas by Hamas to attack Israeli civilians in order to draw retaliatory fire to civilians is a war crime.

* I agree that the recruitment of civilians to act as human shields by Hamas for combatants not in uniform is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of journalists as human shields by Hamas is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of civilians and children by Hamas as bait for the enemy so that snipers can target relief personnel accompanying their military is a war crime.

* I agree that the deliberate killing of injured and wounded civilians by Hamas to increase casualty rates is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of university buildings for weapons manufacture by Hamas is a war crime.

* I agree that stockpiling explosives in civilian areas or the transport of explosives through civilian areas by Hamas so that those civilians are wounded or killed by mishandling or targeting of those weapons is a war crime.

* I agree that systematically exterminating members of a rival party (Fateh) or religion (Christianity) by Hamas for political purposes is a war crime.

* I agree that the torture of Fateh members and Christians while held in jail without charges by Hamas is a war crime.

* I agree that the passage of laws by Hamas which threaten inhumane punishments such as crucifixion, torture, amputation, and death for political crimes is a war crime.

* I agree that taking hostages and refusing to give free access to Red Cross/Crescent personnel or their use as propaganda material is a war crime.

* I agree that Hamas’ use of civilian police forces as a reserve army by an organization on international terror lists is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of public airwaves by Hamas to incite violence upon Israeli civilians is a war crime.

* I agree that the use of civilian foreign aid by Hamas for military purposes is a collective war crime.

Like this:

In the midst of its Gaza operations, the IDF is entering yet another conflict zone: the Internet. The Israeli army announced yesterday the creation of its own YouTube channel, through which it will disseminate footage of precision bombing operations in the Gaza Strip, as well as aid distribution and other footage of interest to the international community.

“The blogosphere and new media are another war zone,” said IDF Foreign Press Branch head Maj. Avital Leibovich. “We have to be relevant there.”

This is exactly the right move as they will be able to report unfiltered news but news that the media chooses to ignore. After all if nobody reports on something; such as Col John Chu’s 6/29/06 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee reporting on WMD found in Iraq; as far as people are concerned it never happened.

Dozens of people have been gathering since Saturday in Second Life at a protest of the recent attacks in the Gaza Strip. The Egypt and Qatar-based news site, IslamOnline.net, has built a Palestine Holocaust Memorial Museum with scores of pictures of the attacks and people wounded in the attacks drawn news sources around the world. The museum was previously named the Gaza Holocaust Museum, about which we blogged in March 2008. Those who identified themselves who attended the gathering were mostly in Egypt, but also included people in Morocco, Italy, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, France and the United States.

The gathering is an example of the rich, textured opportunity that 3D immersive spaces like Second Life offer for people to express their concerns about present day issues.

I wonder if the 2nd life pro Hamas protesters will also be physically attacking pro Israel 2nd life protesters? I would doubt is as I suspect the pro Israel people have actual lives to live.

The dichotomy is actually perfect. Israel moves to inform using reality while Hamas tries to sway opinion using fantasy.

Several of the videos showing the Isreali Air Force hitting Hamas rocket launching sites with GBU-39 precision-guided bombs have been flagged by pro-Hamas (or at least anti-Israeli) users and momentarily removed for terms of use violations before being restored. Some have been removed and have not been restored. Expect this online battle to continue, and perhaps intensify.

Share this:

Like this:

I got in early this morning and woke up late today so this is behind the times.

Of course if you really want to get most of the news as always you can keep an eye on Israellycool since they are as on top of it as you can get.

Well Hamas continues the great Arab tradition of saying on this in English and another thing in Arabic:

It is also the exact antithesis of how Hamas sounds on the Arabic website. In Arabic, death is glorified; in English, it is tragic. In Arabic, martyrdom is the highest achievement; in English it is barely mentioned.

Hasn’t it struck people as odd over the years that the protests from Gaza et/al over the years always have more signs in English than Arabic? It’s almost as if theirphotosarestaged!

Meanwhile Michael Ledeen states that the war has to be won in Iran not Gaza:

They, and those who think the same applies to the Iranians, forget that our enemies want us dead or dominated, they don’t want a world at peace in which they will have to deal with real problems of governance. They are waging jihad, not diplomacy.

It follows from this that you cannot “solve” Gaza by fighting in Gaza alone, you have to win the terror war. And to do that, you must accomplish regime change, just as Netanyahu said. But the crucial regime change must be accomplished in Iran. Whatever Israel accomplishes in Gaza (and the same holds for our battles in Iraq and Afghanistan), it is only a matter of time before the mullahs reorganize, rearm, and return to battle. And the next battle may involve nuclear weapons.

I didn’t know Singu ended up at Radialpoint, he’s a good pickup for them.

It also hit me this morning that if HiWired was picked up then the Remote backup that we offered is still functioning, so if you had databackup through HiWired, (And you should have) it will not only continue to function but will be renewable (and you should renew it).

I don’t know if Plum Choice will be keeping the same backup through Ctrl-Center but I would strongly suggest they do. I’ve seen too many systems that were not backed up to the grief of their owners.

Remember THE DATA IS THE REASON FOR THE SYSTEM! If you don’t back it up, and the current HiWired is offering backup for as low as $8 a month. People feel really foolish when they don’t backup and your system crashes. Don’t make that mistake.

You people of the South don’t know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don’t know what you’re talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it

Substitute “Israel” for North and either “Arabs” or “Palestinians” for South and read it again. The next statement says something profound about the Arab world

Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors.You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, … If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.

The Arab world is blessed with oil wealth yet hey have done nothing but emasculate their own people with it. Even in Gaza, the Israeli’s left greenhouses an infrastructure intact. The Palestinian authority has been given hundreds of millions in aid from the west and Europe and where has it gone?

How do you think Arafat his wife and his boytoys managed to get so rich? If just half of the money was spent on improving the lives or promoting industry the Palestinians would now be prospering.

I could be dead wrong but my gut says that if it was up to the avg. Joe there they would rather just live their lives. Given the chance they could live them well. (Even if hey still wanted to go to war they would have their own wealth and infrastructure to help support it.) The rest of the Arab world and at the moment Iran prefer the Palestinians to remain a tool to threaten Israel and a distraction to their own peoples. That is why there were never absorbed. The other Arabs don’t give a damn about them.

Sherman’s sober words about the “terrible hardships of war” were written to the mayor of Atlanta, who had complained about the cruelty of the Union commander’s order for the evacuation of the civilian population of the city. Sherman’s merciless attitude was motivated by his belief that the South bore responsibility for starting the war, and thus had no legitimate grounds to complain about the consequences of war. Sherman furthermore believed that by devastating the interior of the Confederacy, destroying its infrastructure and resources, he would hasten the end of the war and thereby end its attendant misery:

This is exactly right.

He also says this:

If the IDF had a Sherman in command, he would no doubt vow to “make Gaza howl” with a March to the Sea.

Boy that sounds familiar.

Sherman BTW is a fascinating person I suggest finding a good biography to read of him, but not this one by Lee Kennett which managed to make the story of an interesting man into a boring tale.

Share this:

Like this:

It looks like Microsoft has heard the cry of the Customer again and is extending the OEM period of windows XP through May 2009.

Microsoft system builder partners who’ve been feeling queasy about the impending Jan. 31, 2009, deadline for selling PCs with Windows XP pre-installed can now breathe a bit easier, as Microsoft is giving them a way to obtain XP licenses through distribution after the deadline.

In an e-mail to ChannelWeb, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the existence of a flexible inventory program that will allow distributors to place their final orders for Windows XP OEM licenses by Jan. 31, 2009, and take delivery against those orders through May 30.

Some are speculating that Microsoft is extending this deadline to ease the overlap into the release of Windows 7, slated to drop in mid-2009, rather than risk losing Vista-averse customers in the downtime between XP’s demise and Windows 7’s arrival.

Of course if windows 7 is the dog Vista was then I might see my grandchildren buying XP systems.

Full disclosure: I am typing this on a Vista system that I “upgraded” from XP two years ago.

You know Microsoft actions concerning Windows XP remind me of the old Robin Williams live performance mocking Libya and the “line of death” back in the 80’s. Maybe he can modify it as Bill Gates with the a “deadline of death” skit.

Share this:

Like this:

Remember this name Abdallah bin Bakhit. He is a Saudi columnist in Saudi Arabia and he is a brave man:

Abdallah bin Bakhit, Saudi liberal and columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, stated in an interview on Al-Arabiya that “the time has passed” for the Saudi religious police, and that it should be abolished.

He has been banned from writing for Al-Jazirah hopefully that is the lest of what happens.

Via LGF who notes its a start. I think it is huge. A Saudi writer publicly coming out against the religious police in a state where the death penalty is in full force? That is bravery.

Share this:

Like this:

Well all kind of round ups are taking place over the hits of Gaza this week and there are quite a few surprises. Lets start a Powerline Blog.

In Calling Hamas pt 2 they look at the tactic of hiding being civilians:

The video vividly illustrates how Hamas uses civilians as shields against a humane enemy, making the avoidance of civilian casualties virtually impossible. Hamas’ conduct is illegal and evil. Under the circumstances, the Bush administration’s instruction to Israel to avoid civilian casualties at best represents a kind of confusion regarding the challenges Israel faces on each of its borders. The challenges are akin to those the United States faces in its own engagements in the region, so it is hard to believe that the problem is one of intellectual clarity rather than political cowardice.

They also touch upon coverage and attempts to scrub things in Hamas’ favor. Referencing the blogs Mere Rhetoric and I*Consult. Note also this post at I*consult concerning the Washington Post ended up pulling some “fake” photography.

Powerline further notes that the Arab governments are not following as blindly in these twoposts.

The Sunni Arab nations see less of a threat from Israel than from Iran, the Persian Shi’ite nation bent on establishing regional hegemony. Hamas gets its funding and direction from Tehran, in part through its Syrian ally. Egypt has no desire to see Iran establish a satellite nation on its border and on the Mediterranean, and the Saudis won’t much care for it either. Hamas’ war gave the Sunni moderates an opportunity to isolate their leadership among Arab nations, enough of an opportunity to do it publicly.

Personally I think this is part of the success of the Iraq war, they know which horse is strong and they know who the #1 killer of Muslims is, and it isn’t the US or Israel. Iran is giving them an excuse and they are going to take it.

Gateway pundit notes the reactions of CAIR and Hamas and sees that they are the same. Funny I don’t recall CAIR condemning the rocket attacks on Israel.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit harshly censured Hamas today (27 Dec), placing responsibility for the current situation on Hamas. At a noon press conference broadcast on Egyptian television, he said that Egypt had repeatedly cautioned against continuing the situation and that whoever did not listen (Hamas) should assume responsibility and not blame others.

The bad news is that Ismail Haniyeh is still alive. The good news is that it seems the casualty rate was about 94% terrorists.

She also names names:

Three senior terrorists bought the farm today. Unfortunately, we don’t know of any more. But still, the loss of two hundred Hamas terrorists is a good thing.

The 230 Palestinians killed in the Israeli air raid on Gaza Saturday included three senior officers: Tawfik Jabber, the commander of Hamas’ police force in Gaza; his adjutant, Ismail al-Ja’abri, commander of the defense and security directorate; and Abu-Ahmad Ashur, Hamas’ Gaza central district governor.

IAF jets struck tunnels connecting the Palestinian and Egyptian sides of Rafah, a Gaza Strip border town which has become a main entry point into Gaza of weapons, dynamite and other smuggled military equipment and consumer goods.

Instead of proving to the world that they are capable of building a free and democratic state, the Palestinians voted in the militant Islamist group Hamas which – with support from Tehran — quickly turned Gaza into a terrorist enclave.

Hamas then took over full control of Gaza in a bloody operation against the Palestinian Authority and its supporters.

In June of 2006, Hamas “commandos” invaded Israel and kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. The “international community” has been virtually silent about Shalit who — unlike the detainees at Guantamo – has never had access to the Red Cross much less to an attorney.

The real question now is will Israel do to Hamas what it failed to do to Hezbollah: demonstrate clearly that terrorism is a dead end – figuratively and literally — for those who employ it, sponsor it and support it?

For myself, I don’t think terrorism is a dead-end: It’s been a very successful strategy for Hezbollah and Hamas: the more atrocities they commit, the more the Europeans and factions of our State Department and our intelligence community want to negotiate with them — just as they want to embrace the Muslim Brotherhood, which ostensibly has given up terrorism but in actuality continues to preach it.

As for demonstrating that it is a dead-end, I suppose that depends on whom the demonstration is intended for. Hamas, for example, exists to be a terrorist organization. They are incorrigible, and there has already been enough demonstration for them that their methods work.

The question is whether the Palestinian people are educable. Which brings me back to the first point: the Palestinians voted to put in power — i.e., vest with the power of a quasi-sovereign government — a terrorist organization which thinks legitimate governing consists of bringing about the annihilation of its sovereign neighbor and, meantime, targeting the said neighbor’s civilian population with bombing attacks. When you do that, you make yourself a target.

As I recall in 1861 the southern states voted for secession and got what they voted for too. Lucky for Gaza Sherman isn’t in Israel.

Time will tell how this will all come out. Was Hamas testing Israel with the attacks this week? Did Iran want to see what would happen before their proxies hit from the north?

My take on it. This is a strategic move by Iran and a smart one. I personally think this is Iran’s war by proxy. Their best next move is an attack by Hezbollah as soon as possible. This would serve two purposes. It will divide the Israeli response and if it suckers Israel into Lebanon it could not only bog them down but might change the direction of the propaganda war.

Unfortunately no matter what happens even a total Israeli victory the winner here is Iran. As long as the world is talking about Gaza and rocket attacks and responses they are not touching the ongoing building of Nukes by Iran. I think this is all a sucker punch to keep the heat elsewhere. If Israel is hitting Gaza and or Lebanon they are not hitting Iranian nuke sites. They are buying time with Arab rather than Persian lives.

Share this:

Like this:

You know as the 10th doctor era winds down I’ve been thinking of the Character. I can’t help but see a parallel in current events.

Over and over we see the doctor knowing what has to be done. He sees and knows what war is. He has fought a desperate war for survival of his race. He despises war and despises himself for having to fight it in the past.

He teaches the same to his daughter

And in the end it kills her (apparently) but even after his child dies in front of his eyes he still won’t kill in cold blood:

Even the most heartless and warlike are given a Chance. The Daleks only wish to exterminate and rule over those who are different, due to their own superiority. They are given a chance in Daleks in Manhattan & Evolution of the Daleks.

Even the Cybermen who are determined to convert all to their “superior” ways abandoning feeling and emotion but not beyond falsehood. They are given a chance in the latest episode The Next Doctor.

In each case the Doctor hesitates, he doesn’t want to strike and destroy, he even restrains himself when one he likes are killed but when his help is refused he strikes putting the responsibility where it belongs on those who refuse to stop killing and live in peace.

Some other examples here

In all those cases even after many deaths the Doctor give a chance, but when that chance is refused he strikes knowing what will happen. And each time he does it kills a part of him.

“We’re not saints, we’re just doing our jobs. It’s not easy, I admit. And it gets hard when they cheer when the bodies are brought in.” I looked at her. What did you say? She sighed. “Yes, it gets hard when they cheer.” This was one of the times during my trip when I held up my hands and said, “Stop. Wait.” I turned and walked away to breathe deeply for a minute. I wonder if they’ve restocked that mini-bar. Yeah, probably. It’s a good hotel.

I didn’t meet one Jew the whole trip who didn’t think there would be peace, not one. “We can work it out. We have to. They’re not going anywhere. Neither are we.”

The Arabs sent 300 rockets at them this week and thousands during the “ceasefire”. They have been under constant attack. They are already braced, and what is coming isn’t “reprisal” it’s the same violent attacks that those Palestinian bastards (yes I said bastards) have been launching against these guys for years.

Calling Arab attacks “reprisals” is a sin against language. What have the previous days, weeks months, years and decades of attacks these Palestinians be in reprisal for? The Jewish sin of breathing?

The only reason why these Palestinians are still alive is the fact that they are fighting Israel. Any other country would have destroyed them decades ago and not batted an eyelash.

I have never understood the irrational hatred of the Jews that exists.

Share this:

Like this:

This post is of a slightly personal nature so if you don’t know me personally it will mean very little to you.

Due to circumstances described in this post the Christmas Open House Scheduled for Jan 3rd (9th day of Christmas) at my place has one minor change.

I now have a small supply of booze that I didn’t expect, this includes:

1 Jug Lambrusco (Italian wine) there is no chance that I will finish it in a week
1 Case of Budweiser
1 Case of bud light
1 bottle of Chivas Regal (over the normal supply)
Vodka
1 bottle Grand Mariner Liqueur

This means that the BYOB part of the invitation to the open house will not apply to you if you drink any of the stuff above assuming that it isn’t polished off by the time you get here. (Odds are very slim most of my friends aren’t drinkers).

If you wish to drink something not on that list than the BYOB stuff does apply.

Remember that the open house starts at 2 p.m. Come at any time, leave at any time, it will continue till the last person goes, current record is 1:45 a.m. the next day. Feel free to bring food if you want but it will be provided.

If you are a friend of mind and for some reason didn’t get the invite that is likely due to my error so consider yourself invited. If you are a former co-worker who wants to come but doesn’t have my address e-mail me personally. If you don’t have my personal e-mail leave your e-mail in comments or ping me in AIM. I still have the same AIM address as before.

If you are a total stranger who reads the blog and somehow figure out where I live and show up, use the word “DaTechguy blog” when you come to the door and you will be allowed entrance after all it is an open house. Remember that you will be in a house full of Sicilians so if you are not known by anyone you will likely be well scrutinized.

Basic house rules:

No one has ever gotten drunk at a party of mine, if you somehow manage and try to drive I will use my Sicilian wiles to steal your keys if you don’t surrender them voluntarily. If that fails I’ll take your distributor cap, you will NOT leave my house driving drunk

Unless you are required by law to carry one at all times you should not have a weapon in my house.

If you use drugs don’t bring them into my house, if you bring drugs into my house I’ll call the cops on you personally. And I don’t care about the new grass laws in Massachusetts, they don’t apply in my house.

Three members of my family have Asthma so there is no smoking in my house.

If you are a friend of either of my sons who has been invited by them don’t even THINK of trying to drink in my house. If I catch you trying to sneak booze in my house you will be removed, your parents called and you will not return. Ever!

Share this:

Like this:

As you might guess when a blog tracks back you tend to take a peek to see what is there. Apparently Tel-Chi Nation’s author Avi Green has a second blog devoted to comic books called The Four Color Media Monitor. Looks like a good site for comic book fans.

After taking more that 200 missile attacks in the past week, the IDF attacked every known Hamas security station in Gaza today, killing hundreds and wounding hundreds more. Gazans pledged resistance to any ground invasion, but Israel has not yet indicated when — or if — one will come

Caroline Kennedy made a little more news on NY1 tonight, telling host Dominic Carter that she finally spoke to Hillary Clinton — who didn’t initially take her call — and that, if she’s not selected, she won’t run for the seat.

Let me declare right now that I also won’t run for the seat if Patterson doesn’t pick me.

But my real motive was for this post was to get a 3rd rock clip into the blog somehow:

Share this:

Like this:

Was reading this article on the Kennedys at the weekly standard and this jumped out at me:

From Joe Sr. on down to his sons and their children, the Kennedys have been many things to most men. Morally, they have been profiles in courage and cowardice: They fled Luftwaffe bombs in Blitz-ridden London, and in wartime sought out the most dangerous missions; they have saved shipmates from drowning in dangerous waters, and left a woman to drown in a scandalous accident; they have given the last full measure of devotion in war and its aftermath; and in peace and in new generations, they have sometimes asked for much more than their due. In politics, they have been far right, far left, and dead center; they have been male chauvinists and quivering slaves to the feminist movement; they have been isolationists, interventionists, and democratic crusaders; they have been Churchillian and Chamberlainesque.

When you read that paragraph, it looks like it could be any family in the world couldn’t it? All different types of all different people all one family.

Share this:

Like this:

When HiWired stopped breathing it remained to be seen what would happen to Ctrl-Center, would Office Max drop the brand or give it to another tech support company?

I presume Office Max decided they didn’t want the dough already sunk into be a loss so somebody is doing it. Since the page say US based support I presume it hasn’t gone to India but as to where it is being done and who is doing it I have no idea.

Still not sure if they will be supporting the old services that we once offered, but that is a post for another day. I’d be very interested in knowing what people think of the new service, of course I’d recommend Datechguy’s tech services instead.

Share this:

Like this:

On Morning Joe today there were showing some old clips, one had Brian Williams talking about how the country needs the mainstream media for information and what we would do without them for information.

Share this:

Like this:

Today is the 2nd day of Christmas, it is also Boxing day celebrated in England and all over the former British Empire.

It is also the 2nd day of Maulana Ron Karenga’s (Ron Everett) holiday of Kwanzaa. Celebrated “offically” by many municipalities this newest of December Holidays (even younger than Festivus) is not only the source of muchdebate.

It seems to me not to be making a lot of noise these days. Reason mag has noticed that too:

In the days leading up the Christmas, one couldn’t help but notice that references to Kwanzaa, the decades-old African-American holiday that captured so many dull minds during the Great Culture Wars of the 1990s, were almost nonexistent. Kwanzaa, an Afrocentic celebration of black self-reliance (or something) that so spooked the “war on Christmas” types, has largely disappeared. Back in the day, its champions and critics alike thought it could potentially replace Christmas in the very Christian African-American community.

I still can’t help but notice not noticing Kwanzaa at the greeting cards store. Certainly people are still celebrating the holiday, but clearly corporate America no longer seeks to capitalize on Kwanzaa the way it once did. At a time when a black man can be elected President, the powers-that-be seem to be saying African-Americans are much more ready embrace the de facto American civic religion, Christianity.

Multiculturalism was supposed to highlight our differences in radical ways, not transform them into different flavors of ice cream. But I worry about how Kwanzaa’s disappearance will get understood. In a few years (if not already), Americans will probably remember it the way they remember parachute pants or the Rubik’s cube–the irony, that removing Kwanzaa from the aisles of greeting card stores might end up forever enshrining it as a pop cultural relic. Meanwhile, the meanings of Christmas and Hanukkah continue to be contested and questioned as they reside in the marketplace, Whether it’s gone because nobody knew how to sell it, or because nobody wanted to buy it, Kwanzaa is now nowhere to be found.

I don’t have a big problem with Kwanzza mainly because those who celebrate it these days do so not in the spirit of separation as the founder would like. Kwanzza has become more about a celebration of Blackness than the Marxist drivel of its founder or his attempt to Co-opt Christmas.

So if you celebrate it have a Happy Kwanzza. If you celebrate Boxing Day have a happy one and if you don’t celebrate anything at all then just have a nice day as always.

Like this:

I was pleasantly surprised at several things, I found myself guessing wrong over and over in terms of what was happening. The doctor finds himself in the mid 1800 in London (in the years before his Victorian Exile see Tooth & Claw) when he finds himself in league with a man claiming to be a time lord called “The Doctor” who is investigating several murders battling the Cybermen.

Tennant’s 10th doctor is intrigued while Morrissey’s “Doctor” doesn’t recognize “John Smith” but appears to remember him from the day the Cybermen made him regenerate.

The 10th Doctor’s initial conclusion is a regeneration crisis. Clues and adventure follows as the Cyber plot is revealed and the doctors work to foil it.

The interplay between the two actors is very fine, the Doctor’s companion Rosita (Velile Tshabalala) is an interesting character and our primary villain Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan) is rather solid as the “wronged” woman using the Cybermen to avenge herself.

After watching it and the Dr. Who Confidential (one of the WORST i’ve seen) I see only one fault and that’s a scene that needed trimming. I also thought the final resolution was a bit weak, particularly considering his “outrage” at the actions of the “Blue” Doctor at the end of Journey’s End.

The Next Doctor is well worth popping over to the BBC site to watch it during the week long window when it is available. Enjoy it now since we will have to wait months for our next Time Lord fix. Except of course for the Big Finish monthly audios.

Like this:

Via Glenn This article should be required reading for all those who follow the religion of global warming:

A lot of scientists can tell a flaming fraud when they see one, but they are keeping their heads well down. Freeman Dyson, one of the great physicists, tells us why:

When science gets rich it becomes political.

According to Dyson, our problem is not underfunding science; it’s overfunding scientists until they become politicized

He compares the current climate models to video games

Simplistic computer models don’t work because they ignore too many factors — like atmospheric water and Mr. Sun, just to name two. In their own specialties most scientists would dismiss such simplistic models out of hand. This one they don’t dare to touch.

People get very angry if you try to kill their golden goose. More Dyson on climate models:

They do not begin to describe the real world that we live in. The real world is muddy and messy and full of things that we do not yet understand. It is much easier for a scientist to sit in an air-conditioned building and run computer models, than to put on winter clothes and measure what is really happening outside in the swamps and the clouds. That is why the climate model experts end up believing their own models.

Playing guitar hero does not make you a musician and playing medal of honor won’t make you a soldier. Read the whole thing.

Like this:

Posts navigation

Listen to your Granny

Food Glorious Food

Find Discounts at the Stores you Love

Bloggers Prayer

Oh God, you who gave free will to your creation, bless those who use that precious gift to blog.

May we though this gift of freedom of expression enlighten, entertain and inform our readers, and we ask particular blessing for those who bring your word across the net, that they may faithfully execute your command to make disciples of all nations.